No. 48 Tahmineh comes to Rostam

The
scene of Tahmineh visiting Rostam at night with the request to bear
his child is one of the most frequently illustrated episodes in the
Shahnameh
(see Nos.
18 and
28).
Rostam’s enthusiasm and Tahmineh’s
bashfulness make this is one of the most delightful versions. The
exquisite rendering of a princely interior transports the viewer into
the fifteenth century. Tahmineh is no longer attended by a woman but
by a black eunuch, perhaps reflecting a change in contemporary
custom.
The depiction of the div
shows influence from China or Central Asia.

Together with Nos.
44,
45,
46,
47,
49,
50,
53,
54 and
55,
this illustration belonged to a
copy of the Shahnameh
made for Mohammad Juki b. Shah Rokh, brother of Ebrahim Soltan (the
patron of Nos.
33,
34,
35,
36,
38 and
39).
Mohammad Juki died before
the manuscript was completed. In the early sixteenth century, it came
into the possession of a later Timurid ruler, Babur, who took it to
India when he founded the Mughal dynasty there.